Seven women go on record to defend 58-year-old Miguel Briseno. One woman, who said she's afraid for her life, anonymously came out against him.

Caleb Downs, San Antonio Express-News

Published 12:43 pm, Monday, October 16, 2017

Photo: Courtesy, Jessica Rose

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Since the arrest of Miguel Briseno, a 58-year-old Medina County man accused of sexually assaulting five juvenile girls, several of his former foster daughters have rushed to his defense, describing him as an “amazing” man who was a father figure for dozens of girls.

Since the arrest of Miguel Briseno, a 58-year-old Medina County man accused of sexually assaulting five juvenile girls, several of his former foster daughters have rushed to his defense, describing him as an

The arrest of Miguel Briseno, a 58-year-old man from Medina County, on five child sex assault charges has riled up a storm of controversy among the community of more than 180 women who passed through his care.

The arrest of Miguel Briseno, a 58-year-old man from Medina County, on five child sex assault charges has riled up a storm of controversy among the community of more than 180 women who passed through his care.

Photo: Facebook

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Since the arrest of Miguel Briseno, a 58-year-old Medina County man accused of sexually assaulting five juvenile girls, several of his former foster daughters have rushed to his defense, describing him as an “amazing” man who was a father figure for dozens of girls.

Since the arrest of Miguel Briseno, a 58-year-old Medina County man accused of sexually assaulting five juvenile girls, several of his former foster daughters have rushed to his defense, describing him as an

Since the arrest of Miguel Briseno, a 58-year-old Medina County man accused of sexually assaulting five juvenile girls, several of his former foster daughters have rushed to his defense, describing him as an “amazing” man who was a father figure for dozens of girls.

Since the arrest of Miguel Briseno, a 58-year-old Medina County man accused of sexually assaulting five juvenile girls, several of his former foster daughters have rushed to his defense, describing him as an

The arrest of Miguel Briseno, a 58-year-old man from Medina County, on five child sex assault charges has riled up a storm of controversy among the community of more than 180 women who passed through his care.

The arrest of Miguel Briseno, a 58-year-old man from Medina County, on five child sex assault charges has riled up a storm of controversy among the community of more than 180 women who passed through his care.

Photo: Facebook

Image 6 of 11

Since the arrest of Miguel Briseno, a 58-year-old Medina County man accused of sexually assaulting five juvenile girls, several of his former foster daughters have rushed to his defense, describing him as an “amazing” man who was a father figure for dozens of girls.

Since the arrest of Miguel Briseno, a 58-year-old Medina County man accused of sexually assaulting five juvenile girls, several of his former foster daughters have rushed to his defense, describing him as an

The arrest of Miguel Briseno, a 58-year-old man from Medina County, on five child sex assault charges has riled up a storm of controversy among the community of more than 180 women who passed through his care.

The arrest of Miguel Briseno, a 58-year-old man from Medina County, on five child sex assault charges has riled up a storm of controversy among the community of more than 180 women who passed through his care.

Photo: Facebook

Image 8 of 11

Since the arrest of Miguel Briseno, a 58-year-old Medina County man accused of sexually assaulting five juvenile girls, several of his former foster daughters have rushed to his defense, describing him as an “amazing” man who was a father figure for dozens of girls.

Since the arrest of Miguel Briseno, a 58-year-old Medina County man accused of sexually assaulting five juvenile girls, several of his former foster daughters have rushed to his defense, describing him as an

Miguel Briseno, who's currently being held in the Medina County Jail on a $500,000 bond, was a licensed foster parent from 2005 through 2010, Brown said. During that time, more than 180 teenage girls or younger passed through his care. At various times, Briseno was taking care of 12 girls at once.

Miguel Briseno, who's currently being held in the Medina County Jail on a $500,000 bond, was a licensed foster parent from 2005 through 2010, Brown said. During that time, more than 180 teenage girls or younger

Miguel Briseno, who’s currently being held in the Medina County Jail, was a licensed foster parent from 2005 through 2010, according to the Medina County sheriff. During that time, more than 180 teenage girls or younger passed through his care. less

Miguel Briseno, who’s currently being held in the Medina County Jail, was a licensed foster parent from 2005 through 2010, according to the Medina County sheriff. During that time, more than 180 teenage girls ... more

Defenders of the 58-year-old man arrested on five charges of child sex assault are adamant he was a loving father figure who took pains to avoid even the appearance of impropriety while his alleged victims say he led a double life and abused for years several of the more than 180 children he was assigned to care for as a foster parent in Bexar and Medina counties.

A representative of the agency that placed children in his care say Miguel Briseno was lauded by foster children and won awards. Law enforcement officials said that as they closed in on filing charges, Briseno threatened victims.

The two stories being told about Briseno reflect the disagreement among the women who passed through his home - and the surprise expressed by many in the community who interacted with him.

"I have three kids, and I will swear on each of my kids' lives that he did not do this," said 21-year-old Jessica Rose, who lived with the Briseno's from about 2011 to 2013. "I feel so strongly about this that I would put my children's life on the line. It makes me sick to my stomach, because of all the foster parents that have sexually abused me, he's the only one that took care of me."

Another one of his former foster daughters agreed to speak with mySA only on the condition she remain anonymous. According to Briseno's affidavit he called several of his alleged victims as law enforcement closed in on him and threatened to have his son kill them if they came forward.

Even though Briseno is now behind bars in the Medina County Jail with a $500,000 bond, the woman said she was still scared of retaliation.

"I'm not knocking people that say he 'radiated love,'" she said. "I'm not knocking that. But it doesn't change that he's a monster. Looks can be deceiving."

The accusations

Briseno was first verified to receive foster children into his Von Ormy home in 2002 by the child-placing agency Therapeutic Family Life, according to Child Protective Services. Court documents say he sexually assaulted three girls in Bexar County while living in Von Ormy.

Briseno assaulted the first alleged victim sometime in late 2005 or early 2006. The victim, who lived in the home from August 2005 to April 2008, said she often went out to a red garage at Briseno's Von Ormy home to watch him work on cars. After about six months he allegedly started hitting on her. One day, he raped her in the garage, the affidavit says.

According to the victim, Briseno raped her once or twice a week for three and a half years until she left the home.

A second victim said about three months into her stay with Briseno, from April 2006 to September 2009, he "came on to her" at a Super S Market in Somerset, Texas, and touched her inappropriately.

According to his arrest affidavit, Briseno later raped the girl on a couch while they were watching a movie and his sleeping wife sat in a different chair. In a third incident, he allegedly forced himself onto her in a bedroom.

The second victim told investigators that Briseno would often use her nicotine addiction against her, promising her cigarettes or extra money for her allowance if she had sex with him.

The third victim from Bexar County told investigators she stayed with Briseno from March 2007 to June 2010, during which time he allegedly had sex with her in the back of a moving van that was being driven by the second victim.

Authorities say he sexually assaulted two more girls after he moved to Divine, Texas, in Medina County, though the circumstances surrounding those assaults are currently unknown.

An earlier charge

Briseno was previously arrested in April 2013 on a charge of solicitation to commit sexual assault of a child after one of his foster daughters told authorities he had sexually assaulted her. He would later plead guilty to a reduced charge of attempted assault. Medina County Sheriff Randy Brown said authorities had difficulty securing credible testimony from Briseno's foster daughters, which contributed to the reduced sentence.

Following his arrest, Child Protective Services stopped all foster placements into his home, according to Mary Walker, a representative of CPS. He was verified with the child-placement agency Refuge House San Antonio until 2016.

However Michele Gorman, executive director of Refuge House, said the Briseno home was closed out of their system in 2015, and that after the 2013 allegation surfaced, they immediately stopped placements to the home and removed all the girls from Briseno's care.

Briseno, who Gorman said attended several of her training sessions and was a bit of a jokester, was investigated by Residential Child Care Licensing, a regulatory agency that enforces Texas Department of Family and Protective Services standards, at least twice between 2009 to 2013 for inappropriate behavior with a foster child. No wrongdoing was discovered in either investigation.

Gorman said the latest allegations came as a shock to herself and her organization. She said the foster girls who passed through Briseno's care always gave favorable reviews and that the Brisenos had even won awards for being an excellent foster family.

"There were no red flags," she said. "They did everything they were supposed to. They did their training on time. The girls never said anything. As a matter of fact, they said the opposite, that they were the most amazing foster parents they had ever had. CPS would call us and ask to place others in their home. They had a waiting list. [The Brisenos] had a great reputation with CPS.

Law enforcement authorities discovered Briseno was considering fostering more children with his wife in the weeks leading up to his arrest this year. Brown said he was attempting to move his foster parent license into his wife's name in order to do so, though Gorman said that would've been impossible, as foster parents have to jointly register to foster children.

Sheriff Brown told mySA on Thursday that more than 180 girls have passed through the Briseno home, leading authorities to believe there are numerous other potential victims. Since news broke of Briseno's arrest on Wednesday, at least one other victim has contacted authorities and accused him of abusing her.

"If you've stayed at that house, if you were a foster child [in Briseno's care], please contact us," he said. "Whether you feel something inappropriate happened or not, we'd still like to talk to you."

Victims are asked to call 210-335-8477 if they have any information on Briseno's alleged abuse.

Foster daughters react

Seven women have gone on record with mySA since Briseno's arrest to defend him against the accusations. All of them said their time at the Briseno home was completely devoid of any abuse. Some describe Briseno as the true victim in the case.

"The accusations are ridiculous," said 21-year-old Virginia Trujillo, who lived with Briseno in 2010 and again in 2012. "I don't believe it one bit."

Crystal Rosales, a 27-year-old woman who lived with Briseno from 2005 to 2008, also doubted the victims' claims and was upset that they've put her father through such an ordeal.

The comments echo Jessica Rose's sentiments, who said she personally knew some of the accusers, whom she claimed were well known drug addicts with mental health issues.

"What needs to be taken into consideration is the credibility of the girls. For every one of them saying he raped her, there are 15 saying he didn't," she said.

Rose and other foster daughters said they feel so strongly about the accusations because the Bresino's household was strictly regulated. The girls' days were scheduled from sun up to sun down, and Bresino was never allowed to be with fewer than four girls, multiple former foster daughters said.

Their home in Devine was even separated between the girls' section and the actual Bresino family quarters. The girls were not allowed to cross the boundary between the two without express permission, they said.

"It's just not possible," Rose said. "These people gave up their life to raise children they owed nothing to. His sons weren't even allowed in their own home because of the girls."

That Briseno was described by law enforcement as a "potential hazard" who threatened to have his sons kill victims who came forward was also doubted by multiple former foster daughters, including Trujillo, who said Briseno's son, Mike, would never come to their side of the home out of respect for them.

"It's ridiculous to be honest," said 26-year-old Tina Ramos, Crystal Rosales' sister who stayed with the Brisenos in Devine, Texas, for a few months between 2007 and 2008. "The girls that are making the accusation are probably ones that didn't get their way when living with my dad. My dad would never have threatened them with [his sons] Mike and Richard."

Neither of Briseno's sons were available for comment on Friday.

Selena De La Cruz, 21, lived with the Briseno's from 2009 to 2010. She said Briseno always had four or more girls with him to avoid "wild" accusations.

"He is an amazing man who doesn't deserve this," De La Cruz said in a Facebook message. "It boiled my blood to see something like this about someone who took me in. If I didn't know him, I would have believed it, but I know him. I lived with him. I never had a dad, and he filled that void with love and understanding and acceptance. He is not the man that they are making it look."

The one former foster daughter who believes the victims' accusations against Briseno, and who requested to remain anonymous, lived in the Briseno home for a few months in 2007.

She said Briseno intelligently picked and chose who he could trust, and who he could abuse. She said she never directly saw anything inappropriate, but "the signs were there." Specifically, she often saw him hide things from his wife, and treat certain girls differently from others.

"He always rubbed me the wrong way," she said. "I never had a dad, but he was the next best thing. He was, but I feel like it was also a show. He was putting on a front for everyone."

The investigation

The case against Briseno involves the Bexar County Sheriff's Office, the Medina County Sheriff's Office and the Texas Rangers. Representatives from Child Protective Services said they will assist law enforcement in their investigation in any way they can.

"The descriptions of the alleged incidents are sickening," said Mary Walker, a CPS spokeswoman.

Sheriff Randy Brown said law enforcement plans on investigating the companies who placed the girls into the Briseno's home at such staggering rates. He said authorities plan on investigating other members of the Briseno family as well.

Briseno will soon be moved to the Bexar County Jail, where he will be booked on three sexual abuse of a child charges.

In the meantime, his former foster daughters said they're reaching out to lawyers and every news outlet they can to defend their father from the accusations against him.